In a system that encodes an image in accordance with an H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) system, an upper limit of an amount of code per picture is set in accordance with conditions such as an HRD (Hypothetical Reference Decoder) buffer capacity, a network bandwidth, a system layer constraint, and a readout performance of a disk drive. If an amount of code exceeds the upper limit, operation of a system may malfunction. Accordingly, there have conventionally been proposed various methods for controlling an amount of code in an encoding apparatus that encodes an image in accordance with an H.264/AVC system (e.g., see Patent Document 1).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open 2004-165894